Attitude Problem
by GoldenGrimoire
Summary: Haruno Sakura: 21-year-old genius, Master's degree-holder in mathematics, youngest teacher in Monzaemon Academy's 100-year history...and first year Akasuna Sasori's newest project. AU, Sasori/Sakura Chapter 1 slightly revised
1. Chapter 1

Sakura turned back to face her class from the chalkboard. "Alright now, does anyone know the solution for this equation? Raise your hands please."

Her eyes scanned the class, and she inwardly sighed at the distinct level of disinterest that she saw in their first-year faces, not a single one of them moving to raise their hands. _I hate teenagers...why couldn't I have gotten assigned to the grade school or junior high divisions for my internship? _

It definitely didn't help her authority that she was the youngest teacher ever on staff at Monzaemon Academy, the prestigious school for the well-to-do and the gifted that was her own alma mater; at 21, she was only 5 years older than the youngest kids she was teaching. Being an overachieving, grade-skipping math prodigy definitely had its downsides sometimes.

Giving up, Sakura chose a student at random. "No volunteers, huh? Okay...Hoshigaki-kun, how about you solve this equation for the rest of the class?"

The blue-haired teen rubbed his head sheepishly and gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry sensei, I haven't got a clue."

"Yamanaka-san, please?"

"I don't know either, sorry sensei," the blond girl replied half-heartedly, going back to surreptitiously reading a fashion magazine.

Sakura felt a headache coming on as she looked over her class again, her eyes being drawn to the thorn in her side that sat by the window in the back row. The boy sitting in that seat regarded her coolly from behind his glasses, his messy red hair partially obscuring his brown eyes. Akasuna Sasori, the leader of the little gang of misfits that seemed to command class 1-A. He was the smartest student in the room, and he looked it with those red-rimmed glasses of his and his perfectly neat uniform; however, he was also rumored to be a delinquent, although he had never been caught. That baby face of his had probably gotten him out of more than a few scrapes unscathed as well.

He also seemed to go out of his way to make her life miserable by ordering his lackeys not to cooperate with her, but she had no idea why.

"Akasuna-kun, come up to the blackboard and solve this equation for the class," Sakura said, and it was not a request. _Little punk...I'm the one in charge in this room, and he'd better learn that fast._

Sasori's eyes narrowed dangerously at being ordered around by her, but he did as he was told; he never acted up openly in front of a teacher, even her. "Yes, Haruno-sensei."

Their eyes were locked as he got up and strode forward to the blackboard with the casual arrogance of royalty. He paused when he was next to her, unexpectedly and rudely snatching the chalk out of her hand without a word before stepping up to the blackboard and quickly solving the equation.

Sasori turned to face her, adjusting his glasses slightly. "Is this correct, s_ensei_?"

Sakura _almost_ sputtered but was able to keep her indignation in check at his shockingly blatant disrespect; this was certainly new. There was no way in hell he'd get a rise out of her in front of the other students, however. _If he wasn't the chairman's grandson, I'd kick his scrawny ass._

"Yes, that's correct, Akasuna-kun," she said, keeping her voice completely neutral. "You may take your seat."

"Yes, sensei," Sasori said, placing the chalk on the ledge of the board rather than giving it back to her and making her eye twitch.

He was almost back to his seat when she called out to his retreating back.

"By the way, Akasuna-kun," she said with steel in her voice. "See me after class."

His shoulders stiffened, and the glare that he shot her way when he took his seat was absolutely murderous.

* * * * *

"I don't understand, Haruno-sensei," Sasori said mildly, adjusting his glasses once again; he was the very picture of a collected honor student, his posture ruler-straight as he sat at the desk directly in front of hers. "My grades are the highest among the first years, and I am 1-A's class representative. I've been a model student."

"I'm afraid not, Akasuna-kun," Sakura said. "Your grades may be excellent, but you have an attitude problem."

"I think the one with an attitude problem here is you, Haruno-sensei," he said coldly, startling her by dropping all pretense as he stood up and stalked towards her. "You're only 5 years older than me, don't think that's enough to make me respect you."

When Sasori reached Sakura's desk, he stepped around behind it. She turned to face him immediately, jumping in her seat when he unexpectedly slammed his hands down on either side of her on the desk, keeping her pinned in her chair; he leaned down over her.

Suddenly confronted with his face mere inches from her own, his invasion of her personal space made her somewhat uncomfortable.

"Akasuna-kun, I suggest that you step back," Sakura said with an icy, authoritative edge to her voice. Again, it was not a request.

"Do you know why I don't show you the proper respect, Haruno-sensei?" Sasori said, completely ignoring her command, his voice shifting lower, silkier, a small flame flickering to life in his cold eyes.

Sakura's discomfort grew as Sasori leaned closer to her. She was suddenly reminded that he was not only incredibly attractive, but also a sixteen-year-old with the typical libido in overdrive to match.

"I don't take orders from pretty girls, Haruno-sensei," he murmured, and her mouth went dry when his gaze shifted to her lips. "Although, to be fair, you're a _woman_, not a girl."

"W-what are you saying, Akasuna-kun?"

"Call me Sasori," he said, his attention still locked on her lips, his voice like velvet caressing her ears. He reached up and slipped his glasses off, his eyes glancing up to meet hers from behind his messy red bangs. "Akasuna-kun is so _formal_, Sakura-sensei."

Sakura felt a shiver run down her spine at the way her name rolled off of his or no, it had been a long time since any attractive male had given her that kind of smoldering look, and she felt her resolve wavering under his heated gaze.

Her own lips suddenly felt parched and cracked, and she automatically darted her tongue out to moisten them before she was able to stop herself.

"F-fine, Sasori-kun. Now back off," she said, the unsteadiness in her voice completely undermining her attempt to assert her authority.

The flame in Sasori's eyes blazed into an inferno as he drew even closer. "No, Sakura-sensei. Not Sasori-_kun._"

"Just Sasori," he whispered, and his eyes drifted down to her lips again. He then closed the little distance remaining between them until their noses were almost touching.

Sakura felt as if her heart was going to burst from her chest any second as she felt his warm breath on her lips. Her voice seemed to be caught in her throat, and she felt her cheeks getting hot.

His eyes narrowed slightly at her lack of a response.

"Don't be shy, Sakura-sensei. Say my name," Sasori said, and she sharply drew in a breath at the sultry tone he used. This time too, it was not a request.

Unable to look away from him, she heard the word he wanted her to say slip breathlessly from her lips.

"Sasori," Sakura whispered.

"There, you see?" he purred. "That wasn't so difficult now, was it, Sakura-sensei?"

He began to edge closer to her, and her eyelids fluttered shut, her breath held in trembling anticipation as she waited for his lips to brush against hers.

And waited...

And waited...

And...what the hell was taking him so long?!

Sakura cracked her eyelids open in irritation to see Sasori smirking smugly at her before he stepped back.

"Hmm, you're a better teacher than I thought, Haruno-sensei," he said, slipping his glasses back on as he moved to his desk to pick up his schoolbag. "You're already inspiring a change in my attitude."

Sakura sat there bewildered, cheeks flushed, mouth slightly agape, staring at him speechlessly as he slid the classroom door open.

"Maybe you can help me some more with my attitude problem after class tomorrow, too," he said, glancing over his shoulder to meet her eyes. "I think it's going to take a lot of work to get under control. Have a good evening, Haruno-sensei."

The slap of the door against the door frame as Sasori slid it shut snapped her out of her daze.

_...I'm going to kill that little bastard._

* * *

**  
Author's Notes:** There isn't actually a grade skipping system to my knowledge in Japan, so just take that as a little dramatic license. :)

Thank you for reading, and please take the time to review. :)


	2. Chapter 2

_A sudden gust of wind snatched the sheet of paper from the young redheaded boy's hands and sent it sailing through the spring morning air. The boy chased after the page as it fluttered through a copse of blooming cherry trees, fallen petals drifting all around him like pink snowflakes. _

_The wind at last dissipated long enough for the document to land on the stone path that wound between the trees, and this time, the boy was able to retrieve it before it was carried aloft once more. Just before he turned down the path that headed towards his school, he instead took a brief glance in the opposite direction._

_That was when he saw her, walking up the path towards him._

_For a moment, he thought she looked like the spirit of a cherry tree, tall and graceful, strands of her long pink hair suspended by the breeze and intermingling with the petals that were almost the same shade swirling around her. Her skin seemed as pale as porcelain next to the dark color of the school uniform that she wore, and when his gaze turned to her pretty face he was captivated by the brilliant summery green of her eyes._

_The boy felt his cheeks go warm as he stared at the beautiful older girl, entranced. It was the first time in his life that he had ever looked at a girl...really looked. His feet were rooted to the spot as she approached._

_She turned her attention to him as she passed and smiled, bobbing her head politely and greeting him in a soft, melodious voice._

_He was so dazed that he didn't remember whether or not he had answered her, and he watched her until she had walked around the bend in the path, pink hair flowing behind her like a river as she turned around the corner and disappeared behind the trees._

_It was a sight that he thought he would never forget; yet, as time passed, it was a vision that retreated into the inner recesses of his mind and was eventually unremembered outside of dreams._

* * * * *

In his 7 years as a high school Japanese history teacher, Nara Shikamaru had picked up on two important truths about his chosen career: high school students were uniformly obnoxious, trouble-making little bastards, and letting their antics get to him would send him to an early grave. While nothing could be done about the first, at least the second could be coped with by the application of generous amounts of alcohol and a few cigarettes.

Judging by the way that the newest addition to the teaching staff, Haruno Sakura, was slamming down her teacup and scowling furiously, it seemed as though she'd already picked up on the first truth but was having some difficulty discovering the second.

Haruno's behavior also made it clear that women were not suitable coping mechanisms.

Turning his attention back out the faculty office window to study the ever-changing cloud formations drifting overhead, Shikamaru continued to turn the problem of Haruno over in his mind. He already had a pretty good idea of which of the brats had gotten his colleague's goat. It was probably that little bastard Akasuna Sasori and his lackeys; like himself, Haruno was a genius and wasn't the type to get fooled into thinking the kid was as clean-cut as he pretended to be.

Exerting effort only when absolutely necessary was Shikamaru's forte, and it's what had led him down the path to first become a Japanese history major and later a high school teacher. It was also the reason that he'd pulled Akasuna aside on the first day of class and spelled out to that little punk that he knew exactly what kind of kid he was and what it was that he did outside of school, but that as long as the brat didn't stir shit up in class Shikamaru didn't give a damn about what the kid did in his off-time. Akasuna, no slouch himself in the intellect department, seemed to follow a similar philosophy because he'd agreed to the deal with one of those obnoxious little smirks of his.

Haruno, on the other hand, had likely never reached this particular epiphany and had instead followed the path of the proper overachiever, so she probably didn't stand for the kid's behavior and had called him on it at some point, hence leaving her in her current predicament.

Satisfied that he'd worked out the problem, Shikamaru let his mind wander once again; after all, it wasn't his problem, so there simply wasn't a point to expending the effort to think up a solution.

Unfortunately, an annoyingly familiar voice cut through his reverie.

"Haruno-sensei?"

Yamanaka Ino, class 1-A.

"What?" grumbled Haruno, before seeming to catch herself and switching to an artificially polite tone. "Oh...Yamanaka-san, sorry about that. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Yeah, Haruno-sensei. Can we talk?" Yamanaka paused, and lowered her voice, which meant that it now only carried two-thirds of the way across the room instead of all the way. "Like, confidentially?"

Yamanaka cleared her throat loudly.

Shikamaru glanced over at the two women and shrugged. "Huh? Oh, don't mind me, you two can feel free to have your girl talk or whatever. Just pretend I'm not here."

Yamanaka glared at him, scowling.

Shikamaru sighed and got up with the irritable reluctance of a man 50 years older. "Fine, fine, I'll leave you ladies to it. Yamanaka-san, you better study hard for the Muromachi period test you've got tomorrow if you want to make up for that quiz last week."

"Hey! I studied this time!" she called out indignantly to his retreating back, spurring him to give a lazy wave in response.

Shikamaru slid the faculty office door shut, cutting her off mid-tirade and considered where to go next, preferably somewhere nice and quiet where he could go back to doing as little as possible.

Yamanaka huffed loudly, her voice carrying through the door. "I'd feel sorry for any girl dumb enough to marry that lazy, good-for-nothing—"

Definitely, women were terrible coping mechanisms.

* * * * *

"Hey, danna," Deidara said, leaning back against the railing that ran along the school building's roof, a cigarette dangling from his lip. "What's the deal with you and Haruno? I've never seen you act like that in front of a teacher before, yeah."

Sasori grinned at his childhood friend. "Well, I had enough of that ridiculous woman thinking she could order me around, so I decided to make her my new project."

Deidara raised his eyebrows. "A teacher? I must really be rubbing off on you if you're doing something that risky."

"It's risky, yes, but I'm tired of the girls at this school, they're simply pathetic. All it takes is a smile and a little sweet talk and they're practically spreading their legs already," Sasori scoffed, flicking the ashes off the end of his cigarette. "I want to try seducing a real woman this time. And the only two women worth the effort around here are Haruno and Hyuuga, and Hyuuga is just another innocent little princess."

"You've got your work cut out for you, yeah." Deidara stared up at the sky thoughtfully. "I think she hates you."

"Are you kidding? That naive woman was almost begging to be kissed the first time I even made a move. I thought she'd be more of a challenge, frankly."

"Already? Maybe she's got a schoolboy fetish."

Sasori chuckled. "Well, if she does, I'm going to take full advantage of it. At this rate I'll probably have her before the end of the week."

"She might be tougher than she looks, though," mused Deidara, releasing a stream of smoke from the corner of his mouth. "She seems kinda straitlaced. Getting her to kiss you is one thing, yeah. Getting into her pants might be trickier than you think."

"Maybe, but even if seducing her doesn't work, it's not as if dear Sakura-sensei can turn me down if she wants to keep her job. The old hag's toadies here would never take her word over mine."

Deidara blinked. "That's pushing it a little, even for you, yeah. You must be pretty into her if you'd go that far."

"Don't be ridiculous. Once I've gotten what I want, I'm dropping her like the rest." Sasori paused to take a drag off of his cigarette and studied Deidara from the corner of his eye. "You seem rather keen on warning me off, it's not like you. What, did you want to take a crack at her yourself?"

Deidara laughed. "No way, Temari'd kill me."

"Hmm...I get it now. You're still stuck on that violent girl and she's the one rubbing off on _you_," Sasori said, chuckling. "Although, considering your questionable taste in art, I suppose it makes sense that you'd keep chasing such a crazy girl."

"Hey, she's a great girl, and leave my art out of it. Besides," Deidara said, breaking into a wicked grin, "she likes it rough, yeah. Definitely my kind of girl."

Deidara frowned after a moment. "What's wrong with my taste, anyways? You don't even know anything about art."

"That's where you're wrong. You should know by now that I consider myself a bit of an artist as well, it's only our mediums that are different. You mold clay into exactly what you want it to be," Sasori said, gesturing with his cigarette. "I mold people."

The stairwell door opened abruptly, startling the two boys and putting them on guard. They relaxed, however, when they saw who it was that was joining them on the roof.

"Yo, Nara-sensei," Deidara said with a cheeky wave.

"Are you two pains in the ass up here smoking again? That's no good for your health, you know," Shikamaru said, pulling a crumpled pack out of his pocket and tapping out a cigarette. "Class is about to start in 5 minutes."

"Shouldn't you take your own advice, Nara-sensei?" Sasori said as he gathered the remains of his lunch and crushed his cigarette out.

Shikamaru's eye twitched. "It's troublesome brats like you that drive me to it for stress relief. Now get going."

Just as the two boys reached the door to the stairwell, Sasori barely heard Shikamaru muttering to himself.

"...bitten off more than he can chew this time."

* * * * *

"Er...Yamanaka-san, now that we're alone, maybe you could tell me what's on your mind?" Sakura said in an attempt to get her student to quit ranting about Shikamaru and get to the point, massaging her temples.

Ino blinked and immediately switched gears.

"Oh, uh, sure. It's about Akasuna-kun, Haruno-sensei," Ino said. "You were alone with him after class yesterday, right?"

Sakura squirmed in her seat. "Yes, what about it?"

"Well...you're a teacher and all so maybe it's nothing...but..."

"Yes?" prompted Sakura, hiding her nervousness about the subject by taking a sip of tea.

"Well, the thing is...Akasuna-kun likes to target naive girls just like you, Haruno-sensei," Ino blurted out, making Sakura choke. "I like you, so I thought I should warn you to be careful around him."

"N-naive girls?" Sakura coughed.

"Yeah, he likes going after those innocent rich girl types," Ino said. "He seduces them and then drops them once he gets them to sleep with him. I heard there was a girl that ended up transferring out because she was so broken up about getting dumped by him last year. He's definitely an enemy to all women, even if he's one of the top 5 best-looking guys in school."

"Has he ever gone after you?" _Wow, he's even more of a little bastard than I thought._

Ino waved her hand dismissively. "No way, I'm not his type, and I wouldn't give him the time of day either even if I was.

"I prefer _real_ men, like Uchiha-sempai," she said dreamily, her mind probably filling up with visions of the stoic kendo club captain and school heartthrob, Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura sighed. It was true that she'd let herself be taken in by Sasori's charms and made a complete fool out of herself the day before; it really had been way too long since she'd had a boyfriend if a brat like him was able to catch her so off-guard. She'd been dreading this afternoon's class all day; after that embarrassing display of hers, he'd probably show her even less respect than before.

Unless...

_Naive girls, huh? _

A plan forming in her mind, Sakura glanced at the clock and considered logistics.

* * * * *

Sasori's mouth went dry when Sakura walked into the classroom.

She wasn't wearing her usual suit jacket, and her blouse, dressier than usual, was unbuttoned one more button than usual. Her skirt was shorter than usual, and her heels were a little taller than usual. Her shoulder-length hair was down today, rather than being in the usual ponytail. She wore a little more makeup than usual, her lips a redder, glossier shade.

Most of the other students probably didn't pay enough attention to pick up on the changes; unlike the others, he had been observing her habits very carefully over the past few weeks while deciding how to deal with her. All of these subtle little shifts combined together to make her the embodiment of the fantasy bombshell teacher.

And she was staring right at him.

Sasori felt awash in a wave of smug euphoria. Obviously, Sakura not only wanted him, but wanted him _bad_ if she'd dressed up like this for him; he had anticipated that he'd have to do a bit of sweet talking to get back into her good graces after his teasing, but perhaps she wasn't as upset about it as he had been expecting after all. Her eyes were still fixed on him, and he felt his pants getting slightly tighter at her intense scrutiny.

He inwardly smirked. _Deidara must be right about that schoolboy fetish._

She raised an eyebrow, and looked at him expectantly. _What, does she want it __**now**__?!_

Deidara coughed next to him.

...Wasn't there something else he was supposed to be doing right about now, besides her?

Oh, right.

"Stand," Sasori addressed the class, slightly hoarsely. "Bow."

"Thank you, Akasuna-kun," Sakura said with a brief grin after he had directed the class to take their seats.

Sasori felt rather chagrined at being caught off-balance by a girl for the first time, and doubly so because she had noticed it; well, he wasn't about to let that happen again, no matter how desirable she looked. He'd teach her after class once and for all who was in control of this classroom right on top of that desk she was standing behind, and he couldn't wait to start the lesson.

* * * * *

Sasori lingered in the back of the classroom, grinning briefly at Deidara, who gave him a thumbs-up sign from the doorway before departing to walk Temari home.

Sakura seemed too engrossed in looking over the day's quiz papers to notice that they were now alone in the room. He quietly locked the classroom doors to ensure they wouldn't be interrupted.

He smirked and approached her desk, casually unbuttoning his uniform jacket. He paused within arms reach of her and gave her a long, appraising look from head to toe. She had always been attractive, but seeing her dressed like this, _for him_, made him secure in the belief that he had chosen the right woman to target.

"Is there something I can do for you, Akasuna-kun?" she said after a moment, pushing back her chair and looking up at him.

Sasori swallowed when he saw a brief, tantalizing glimpse of white lace as Sakura shifted her seat back. Had she unbuttoned her blouse one more button when he wasn't looking?

"Yes, I was wondering if we were going to discuss my attitude problem some more today," he said, leaning back to perch on the edge of her desk as his eyes drifted down her neck and slid over the sliver of cleavage exposed by her half-buttoned blouse. "Our last session went quite well, so I thought we could continue where we left off. But, I thought we had agreed that calling me Akasuna-kun simply wouldn't do, Sakura-sensei. Call me Sasori."

"I changed my mind," she said, casually crossing her legs and giving him an eyeful of those incredibly long, shapely limbs in the process. "I think I prefer calling you Akasuna-kun, it keeps things more professional."

He frowned slightly, but his annoyance at her disobedience was somewhat tempered by the expanse of pale thigh that he was able to feast his eyes on. He shifted slightly as his pants began to feel a bit constricting.

"I'd prefer to keep things more informal between us, Sakura-sensei. You should call me Sasori," he said, a little of his irritation leaking out into his tone.

"I don't think so, Akasuna_-_kun," Sakura said, and he shuddered at the low purr she used as she said his name.

Before he could protest her defiance, she stood up, giving him another brief flash of lace, and surprised him considerably by stepping up to him, her hands on either side of him on the desk over his, leaning forwards until she was quite close to his face. He had never noticed the golden flecks in her entrancing green eyes before, and he was enveloped by the exotic, intoxicating fragrance of the perfume she wasn't wearing the last time he was this close to her.

Her eyes never leaving his, Sakura reached up and slowly slipped Sasori's glasses off of his face, dropping them down onto the desk with a careless clatter before covering his hand with her own once again; he was already prepared to wrap his arm firmly around her waist and pull her into his lap, but the bold way that she was caressing the backs of his hands lightly with her fingertips kept them frozen in place on the desk. She swept her gaze over his face, biting her lower lip in an incredibly sexy manner, a gesture that directed his complete attention immediately down to those full, red, glossy lips that he was more than ready to capture as soon as she leaned _just a little bit closer._

However, rather than bring her face even closer to his, she slipped past it. She instead leaned further forwards to whisper in his ear, her breath tickling his neck and her hair caressing his cheek; he tightened his grip on the edge of the desk when he felt her soft chest just barely brush against his and one of her knees slip ever so slightly between his legs. "I think it's best if we remain aware of our boundaries, Akasuna-kun. I'm a teacher, and you're my student, and we should _always_ keep that in mind."

Sasori had never had a girl attempt to seduce him before, and the sheer _confidence_ that Sakura was showing in displaying her sexuality was driving him wild. Even the easiest girls in school were never this self-assured. _If this is what a real woman is like, I don't think I'm ever going back to __those pathetic girls._

He had been planning on this being a one-time tryst like the rest, but considering the reaction she was able to draw out of him when she had barely even touched him, he knew he would want her again after this. It would be even better once he had her fully bent to his will.

Sasori's eyes focused on the elegant column of Sakura's throat that was inches away from his mouth. A mouth that could easily be put to use kissing, licking, and sucking on the lovely pale flesh before him that was practically begging to be tasted and marked. Her head tilted almost imperceptibly to the side, as if to offer up the presumably silky smooth skin of her neck to his eager lips.

Before he could take advantage of her unspoken offer, she moved again.

"There is one other thing I wanted to discuss," Sakura murmured, shifting so that her face was inches apart from his once more.

"What is it?" Sasori licked his lips slightly in anticipation of meeting those luscious red lips of hers that he couldn't seem to look away from.

"Do you think I'm a naive girl?" she asked softly, her eyes sliding down to his lips as she moved closer, her hands shifting to firmly pin his to the desk.

"Naive is definitely something I wouldn't call you anymore, Sakura-sensei," he whispered, feeling lightheaded from the lack of blood flow above his waist.

Sakura smiled and leaned forwards, so close that their lips were almost brushing together as she spoke. "Good, that's just what I wanted to hear."

Sasori was gripping the desk so hard his knuckles were white, and he at last gave in to her, slipping his eyelids shut in anticipation of what was sure to be the most amazing kiss he'd ever experienced, if her seduction technique was any indication of her other skills. _I'll let her have her fun for now, but teach her who's in charge soon enough..._

"Well, I'm glad we were able to clear things up, Akasuna-kun. I think we've both made a lot of progress today. We'll have to cut short our little chat though I'm afraid, I'm meeting someone for dinner," she said, grinning cheekily as she stepped quickly out of reach.

He blinked.

"Dinner?"

"Of course," Sakura said as she walked to the door with quiz papers in hand and a sway to her hips.

She glanced at Sasori over her shoulder, smirking at his growing outrage. "You didn't think I'd get dressed up just to impress the little boys here at school, did you? Have a good evening, Akasuna-kun."

She chuckled softly as she slid the classroom door closed with a snap.

...She did not just do that. That bitch did _not_ just make a fool out of _him_.

He might have a bit more of a challenge on his hands than he'd thought after all.

Glancing down with a scowl, Sasori noted that he had a rather large and far more immediate problem to deal with as well.

* * * * *

Sakura exited the ladies room fresh-faced, hair back in its customary ponytail, skirt hem pulled back down, and blouse rebuttoned; she hurried out to the school entrance to meet her dinner companion.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had to deal with a problem student," she said once she reached the entrance.

Hinata smiled at her. "It's fine, Sakura-san. Do you want to try that tempura place that I told you about? It's not that far from the train station."

Sakura returned her fellow teacher's smile. "Sure thing, lead the way."

As she left the school behind, Sakura grinned smugly to herself. _That should teach that little punk not to mess with a grown woman._

* * *

**A/N:** Please don't smoke, kids!


End file.
